Creating Dashboards

There are two ways you can create dashboards, first, through the Sisense Web Application, and second, through the Sisense REST API.

The difference between these two methods is the Sisense Web Application provides a UI and how you populate the dashboard with widgets.

When creating a dashboard through the Sisense Web Application, you build an ElastiCube or select a data set, create a dashboard, and then populate it with widgets.

To create a dashboard through the REST API, you define the dashboard and then populate it with widgets that already exist through their widget IDs.

Creating a Dashboard

Note: This section is for users with dashboard editing rights (usually with a user role of Designer, and as determined by the user license).

Tip! If you have dashboard editing rights, you should see the editing buttons in the top-right corner of the dashboard.

Note: Each Sisense Web Dashboard is based on the data selected from one or more ElastiCubes or data sets. The instructions below assume that the required ElastiCube(s) and data set(s) have already been created. You can also use the sample ElastiCubes that are installed with Sisense if you have not yet created your own.

To create a dashboard:

In the HOME page, click the ‘+’ symbol above the Dashboards list.
OR
Right-click on the folder menu and select New Dashboard.
The following window appears:

Click the name of the Data Set displayedto select the ElastiCube or data set you want to work with. ElastiCubes have the next to their name while data sets have the icon next to their name.

Click the name of the TITLE, and enter a name for the dashboard. This name will appear at the top of the dashboard, and in the My DASHBOARDS list.

Click CREATE.

You are then automatically guided through the process of creating your first Widget in the Widget Wizard, as described in Adding Widgets to a Dashboard.

Creating Dashboards through the REST API

The Sisense REST API enables you to programmatically create dashboards by defining the basic properties of a dashboard such as Title, ElastiCube (datasource), and owner. After defining the properties of the dashboard, you define its visualizations by including the widget IDs of pre-existing widgets.

To create a dashboard through the REST API:

In the Sisense Web Application, click ADMIN at the top right, and then REST API, followed by REST API Reference.

In the top-right corner of the page, select version 1.0 of the REST API.

Select Settings, then POST /dashboards.

In the body of your call, define the values of the following keys:

Key

Value

Title

String that defines the name of the dashboard as displayed in the Sisense Web Application.

desc

String that represents a short description of the dashboard.

datasource

Object that defines the data source where the dashboard pulls its data.

This object contains the following elements:

title: The name of the ElastiCube. id: The address and name of the ElastiCube where the dashboard queries its data from. address: The address of the dashboard. database: The name of the ElastiCube where the data is pulled from by the dashboard. fullname: The name of the ElastiCube.

filters

This object defines the dashboard filters that the user add goes to the "filters" object in the .dash file.

This object contains the following elements:

datatype: The type of data affected by the filter, for example, text. title: The name of the filter displayed in the Filters pane.

layout

Object that defines what widgets are displayed in the dashboard and their layout.

This object contains the following elements:

type: String that defines how the layout of the dashboard. This value should be "columnar". columns: Array objects that defines the width of each column in the dashboard and how widgets are displayed in each column. cells: Object that contains the subcells. subcells: Object that contains the elements objects where widgets are defined. elements: This objects contains the widget and defines its dimensions within the ElastiCube.

defaultFilters

This object defines the default filters of a dashboard. When a user selects "Set as my default filters" from the Filters menu in the Sisense Web Application, the filters are defined in this object.

Click POST. The Dashboard is added to the Dashboards list in the Sisense Web Application.